1979 Golden Age

It's late at night.

It was already past 12 o'clock, and Chen Qi wanted to sleep after finishing his speech, but Gong Xue was so excited that she didn't feel sleepy at all, and even wanted to do it again.

"Which one do you think should be photographed first?"

"Which one do you like?"

“I like them all!”

Gong Xue thought for a moment and said, "But if I have to choose, I'll choose the first one. The theme of the conflict between Chinese and Western cultures is very fresh. The second one is too miserable. I'm not ready for it yet."

"Okay, let's shoot the first one. For the three stories in the second one, I want to find three actresses from mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. They are not mature enough yet, so let's wait and see."

"Who are you looking for in Taiwan?"

"Choose between Sylvia Chang and Ching Hsia Lam.

"What about Hong Kong? Could it be Cherie Chung?" Gong Xueyu noticed.

"Oops! I went to sleep."

Chen Qi turned over, but was pulled back by Gong Xue, who asked, "Tell me quickly, is it Zhong Chuhong? Humph! It doesn't matter if it's her. We belong to different eras and backgrounds, and we don't have any scenes together."

"Go to bed! It's late at night."

"Sleep, just sleep--"

"My father was a state-class chef in Shanghai and had received many Chinese and foreign leaders. He looked old-fashioned. His wife died early, and his daughter, who he raised, was no longer around. In fact, he was very lonely and wanted to find a new partner, but he was embarrassed. He had a grudge against his daughter, but it wasn't that bad. It was just that the father and daughter never communicated. Do you understand this subtle feeling?"

“Understood!”

“This is true for both Chinese parents and children.”

"Isn't this true for all human beings? Only a few people can open their hearts to their parents, talk about everything, and understand each other."

"Stop, let's discuss this later!"

Chen Qi stopped everyone and continued, "The husband is a second-generation Chinese, and his thinking has been westernized. He doesn't understand why the heroine brought her father over, and the friction gradually escalated from small to large. Finally, a third party intervened and filed for divorce."

"My aunt is a divine person. She has been a dissolute person all her life. She has been married four times and has three children, one of whom lives with her. My aunt has a very crazy personality. She will never consume herself or go crazy to torture others. Her daughter is quiet and gentle, but in private she is very much like her mother."

"These are all the main characters. The story begins with the father coming to the United States, showing a series of cultural collisions, and food is a carrier. For example, the grandson goes to kindergarten-"

"There are kindergartens in the United States too?" Zhang Junzhaowen interrupted.

“Which country doesn’t have kindergartens?”

Chen Qi had a headache and continued, "The father didn't like the food prepared by the kindergarten, so he made delicious food for his grandson and brought it to him, which caused a sensation in the whole kindergarten. There was also a father who felt very sad when he saw his daughter and son-in-law quarreling over him.

I ran away from home, was taken in by a Chinese restaurant, showed off a few tricks, and made the news—"

"What can I do if I lose my sense of taste?" Zhang Yi focused on the details.

"Find someone to cooperate with us, and let them taste it when it's done."

"So your Chenpi chicken is going to be used?"

"Not only that! I also want to complain about the so-called General Tso's chicken. It's sweet, sour and slightly spicy! There are so many dishes like this in Chinese cuisine, but in the end, General Tso's chicken dominated the market. Remember, food is very important in this film. I plan to invite some real state banquet chefs to take charge."

"oh oh!"

Zhang Yi took out a small notebook with records from somewhere.

"After a series of events, the knot between father and daughter was resolved, and the heroine completed her spiritual redemption. The father started a new life. There is a hint here that his daughter had persuaded him to participate in community activities before, and he went to meet a woman and got along well with her.

When my daughter asked, she didn't tell me, just said her surname was Lu, and kept calling me Aunt Lu.

At the end, Aunt Lu appeared. She was an old foreign lady named Louise.

"Hahaha!"

Everyone laughed, and Chen Qi said seriously, "This play is about the life of immigrants and the collision of Chinese and Western cultures to express the deep emotions between people. Wife and husband, father and daughter, Chinese and foreigners - this meaning must be filmed."

After he finished speaking, everyone fell silent, looking at each other without saying a word.

It's obvious! If they say they're going to film it, who can film it here? They haven't even been to the United States. Li Jianqun played with a pair of walnuts like an old man in Beijing, looked at Chen Qi, and made some guesses.

Sure enough, he said, "I am going to start an exchange program to send several groups of domestic film practitioners to the United States for further studies. Directors, producers, and behind-the-scenes personnel are all needed, and the company will pay for it. I need more filmmakers who can keep up with the times, rather than working behind closed doors.

Do you want to go?"

.....”

There was another silence, and Li Jianqun said first: "I can go for a short time. I mainly work in ancient costumes.

Just learn some patterns. If I learn too much, it will affect my style.”

"Sure! How about you guys?"

"How long will it take?" Zhang Yi asked.

"I will talk to the leader and classify it as an official exchange, and then connect with Columbia. It depends on the specific course schedule, which will take 3-6 months."

“I’ll go!”

“I’m going too!!”

Naturally, everyone rushed to agree to this kind of thing.

Chen Qi nodded and said, "Okay! I've said it before, you're not going to travel, nor to worship Hollywood, but to learn from the foreigners in order to defeat them. You're learning film technology and concepts, don't bring back a head full of Western ideas.

After you finish your studies and have enough experience in life, we can discuss the specific shooting of this film then."

Everyone was startled when they heard this.

I inexplicably felt a sense of mission.

From 2013 to 2019, the Film Bureau sent 16 batches of 213 people to Hollywood to study, including directors, screenwriters, animation, production management, actor agents, etc.

Directors such as Wuershan, Ning Hao, Chen Sicheng, Guo Fan, Han Yan, Guan Hu, and Xiao Yang are among them.

There are those who fail, like Xiao Yang.

Some have made breakthroughs, such as Guo Fan.

There are people who study the market, such as Chen Sicheng.

There are those who are stupid and bad, like Wuershan.

Wuershan was among the first group to go there in 2013, and started planning for the deification in 2014.

Now Chen Qi is doing this kind of activity 27 years ahead of schedule, which also means that the fifth generation will appear in front of the world in a completely different way. And he doesn't think it's difficult for Zhang Yi to shoot this drama.

Everyone has a stereotype about Zhang Yimou, as if he is only good at creating big scenes, but in fact he is very innovative in movies.

For example, after Red Sorghum, the next film was Codename Jaguar. Ju Dou and Raise the Red Lantern did not have big scenes. Qiu Ju Goes to Court showed China's rural areas from a candid perspective.

"Raise the Red Lantern" depicts the decadent life of Shanghai, and the camerawork has a bit of Wong Kar-wai's flavor.

"If You Are the One" is a modern urban drama, with handheld photography that moves around, which is extremely avant-garde.

The big scenes started with "Hero", and then the Olympics gave people a stereotype. What is consistent in Zhang Yimou's works is not the scenes, but his aesthetic feeling. His strengths and weaknesses have always been clear. His weakness is that the story is too weak. If he is given a solid script, he can often make a good film.

What he lacks now is understanding of the American environment, so Chen Qi sent him there.

Several people have to go, including Zhang Jianya from Shanghai Film Studio, who is also a warrior. The film system is definitely reluctant to spend this money, so he pays for it himself. Hong Kong directors can also go, and their students will be all over the world in the future.

(Also available at night)